House in a Warehouse

‘House Within a Warehouse’ is a new dwelling in an old warehouse shell designed to be a garden oasis. Designed by Splinter Society, the compact urban residence, combines green spaces and sustainable living. The concept involved creating a layered system of screens and frames that split the site and lift the living spaces of the house, establishing views to green spaces and gardens below.

The site is situated on a 200m2 landlocked warehouse, and entered via a new residential development. Its a dense inner urban setting, where the design solution allows the notion of ‘interior’ to extend beyond the infill, to the periphery of the warehouse walls, inviting the outside in. The interior is a reassembly of parts from the existing warehouse, creating an aesthetic of texture and warmth which references the property’s historical context.

This project has created a green, safe, low toxic environment for the client. It provides great entertainment spaces in a small building footprint, by opening up onto outdoor spaces at every level. Clever zoning and the planning of living spaces on the first floor, creating an under-croft space at ground floor means the family is able to live casually with toys and bikes for kids and adults in the ground level garden, whilst maintaining tidy living spaces for entertaining above.

The result is a house with 3 bedrooms, 2 living spaces and a study, split across three levels. The internal floor area is 195m2, with 100m2 of outdoor built areas. Semi open plan living spaces are contained on the first floor, where they are elevated for views over boundary walls opening onto outdoor spaces, whilst maintaining privacy from neighbours. The zoning and layering of spaces assists in thermal performance, thereby satisfying the clients desire for a low energy house.

The built form is essentially two forms sitting inside the existing saw tooth shell, parted by green steel screens to moderate the sun and views, both internally and externally. This new form step back over three levels of built form, using the existing three storey wall to the south as one of its skins, for functional, aesthetic and sustainable qualities. This stepping form creates four levels of green space, with roofs of spaces below forming gardens for both thermal performance and the inclusion of greenery. Main living spaces are placed on level 1, capturing views, sun and neighbouring greenery.